


Love is a Risky Business

by Tchell1



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec is bad at feelings, First Dates, Fluff and Angst, Izzy and Clary to the rescue, M/M, Magnus is a good boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 08:37:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6697705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tchell1/pseuds/Tchell1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I asked Magnus on a date.” Alec blurted “Today. The date is today.”</p>
<p>Izzy smiled widely.</p>
<p>“That is great, Alec! I’m so happy for you!”</p>
<p>Alec stopped, looked at her, shook his head and then continued moving.</p>
<p>“I have no idea what to do. I have never been on a date! I don’t even know how normal people talk to each other!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love is a Risky Business

**Author's Note:**

> I have no read the books. I'm just playing around.
> 
>  
> 
> Sooooo, I kind of signed up for the shadow hunters big bang and I'll probably not be posting anything until I write the whole fic.  
> =(

Izzy opened the door to her room and found an agitated Alec on the other side.

 

“What’s wrong?” she asked while Alec crossed the room and started pacing back and forth closing and opening his hands every couple of seconds.

 

“I asked Magnus on a date.” he blurted “Today. The date is today.”

 

Izzy smiled widely.

 

“That is great, Alec! I’m so happy for you!”

 

Alec stopped, looked at her, shook his head and then continued moving.

 

“I have no idea what to do. I have never been on a date! I don’t even know how normal people talk to each other!” he said looking at the wall he was moving towards “I shouldn’t have done it.” He turned and moved back from the wall again “Izzy, there is no way Magnus won’t realize I’m a lost cause.”

 

And just like that, the smile left Izzy’s face. She got closer to her brother and took his hand. It took a few minutes, but Alec’s eyes turned to her.

 

“He will not think that of you.” She said gently, looking at him. “That warlock is completely charmed.”

 

Alec laughed sadly.

 

“I have no idea why.” Alec said quietly and very ashamed.

 

Izzy sat on the bed and pulled Alec with her. She hated that her brother felt like this. She hated that she had contributed for him to feel this way. Alec was good and kind and so passionate and all her family had done was crush him and make him feel inadequate. _Well, not anymore._

 

“Alec, you are lovely.” She said smiling “You are smart and amazing and you lead the NY Institute as if you’ve been doing this job for the last thirty years!” Izzy saw Alec laugh “And Magnus knows that. Magnus saw you for who you are and still wants to date you.”

 

Alec squeezed Izzy’s hand.

 

“I don’t know how to keep him interested in me. I mean, he is an immortal warlock! I’m the little shadow hunter that could! Jace’s the on-”

 

“Jace has his own problems, Alec.” Izzy said in a firm voice. “He never wanted for you to feel inferior to him”

 

Alec raised his hands and pressed them to his eyes. Izzy remembered a time when Alec would do this at least once an hour. Alec had been an anxious teenager that tried everything to not let anyone know how affected he was by the pressure their parents put on him. Izzy’s heart clenched seeing Alec trying and falling to control himself.

 

“I’m not sure I can do it.” Alec got up from the bed and the nervous pacing started again. “Raziel, I need to call it off.” He said and walked in direction of the door.

 

In a moment, Izzy was out of the bed and in between Alec and the exit from her room.

 

“You are not calling it off! You and Magnus deserve this date! You deserve to know each other!” she said crossing her arms.

 

“I’m a disaster, Izzy!” Alec shouted and turned his back to her “I can barely string two sentences together! Magnus will not- he will leav- Damnit! Why am I like this?!? Why can’t I be normal?!?”

 

Izzy saw Alec’s hand shaking, he turned back to her and she could also see his wide wet eyes.

 

“Oh, big brother.” she said and went to him, pulling his bigger frame into her body.

 

Alec hugged her back and Izzy could feel the trembling throughout his body. She knew Alec hated that he reacted that way; that the way his brain dealt with disappointment was completely different from hers. Even the notion of Magnus regretting to date him could lead him into this spiral of anxiety and fear.

 

“You know there is nothing wrong with you, right?” she whispered to his ear.

 

Alec laughed wetly.

 

“I keep trying to remember that. It’s not as easy as you think.” He whispered back.

 

Izzy detangled herself from him so that he could look at her eyes. She gave him her biggest smile, filled with happiness and adoration.

 

“You are the best person I know.” She told him “You deserve to be happy.”

 

Alec took a deep breath.

 

“Ok.” He snorted “That sounds fake, but ok.”

 

“You of little faith.” Izzy immediately replied. She turned her back to him and went to the door “Let’s go take a look at your wardrobe to see if anything can be used in your date. Where do you plan to take him?”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Alec?”

 

“I’m working on it.”

 

___***___

 

Clary’s cell was ringing.

 

“Hey, Izzy!” she said answering it “What’s up?”

 

“I need you here and it has to be now.” Izzy’s voice came from the device. “Alec asked Magnus on a date and the poor soul does not have anything salvageable in his wardrobe.”

 

Clary giggled.

 

“Oh, my god. Are you with him? Where is he taking Magnus?”

 

Izzy made an annoyed noise.

 

“He has no idea where he is taking the lovable warlock. Seriously, Clary, we need help. I don’t understand mundane culture very well and Alec understands it even less than me.”

 

“Magnus agreed on a date without knowing where he is going?” Clary asked just because.

 

“Listen” Izzy’s voice came again impatiently “Will you come?”

 

Clary got her purse, checked to see if her stele was inside and walked out of the coffee shop she was in.

 

“I’ll be there in ten.”

 

“Great. Start thinking of nice places to take a high warlock and clothes that could work.” Izzy said and disconnected.

 

___***___

 

 “Ok!” Clary said, seated at Alec’s bed, Izzy in front of her, both with identical satisfied smiles “We got everything we need here on the bed. Where’s Alec, anyway?”

 

Izzy rolled her eyes.

 

“He is the bathroom, practicing his speech.”

 

“His what?”

 

Izzy sighed and let herself sit on the part of the bed that was not occupied by clothes.

 

“Alec has this idea that he needs to give Magnus a disclaimer before they start the date; Something to do with the fact that the date might go bad and he wants Magnus to be fully informed of the impending disaster. Big bro is not playing around.” She said in a dry voice.

 

Clary frowned.

 

“That is… very strategic of him.” She said slowly “I don’t think I have ever been on a date with someone that gave me a disclaimer beforehand.”

 

Izzy shrugged.

 

“That’s Alec for you.” And, turning to the bathroom, she shouted: “Alec, come on! We need to figure this out now! It’s almost time!!”

 

Alec came from the bathroom with his hair wet and his usual black pants, the one that was a bit loose and allowed him to be comfortable at his own home.

 

As soon as Clary saw him, she opened a warm smile, hoping to transmit calmness and tranquility. She got up from the bed and presented the clothes.

 

“So, we separated a few options” she started when she saw Alec getting close to where she and Izzy were. “As we have no idea where you wanted to take him, we covered the basics.” She pointed at the first set “This is in case you want to take him to a nice restaurant: good comfortable pants, fitted shirt and sneakers. This is in case you wanted to take him to have some drinks in one of those fancy bars:  tighter pants, a shirt with bit o cleavage, nice fitting shoes for a place that you won’t be moving around. This is in case you wanted to do something open air: again, the comfortable pants, a fitted shirt with a coat and boots.” Clary stopped and laughed and grabbed a very transparent shirt “Well, the next option is just here because I am an optimist. This is in case you wanted to take him to a night club-”

 

“Pass.” Alec said immediately.

 

Izzy snorted.

 

“You won’t even let me present the option!!” Clary said in fake disappointment. “No seriously, we tried to present you with nice functional options, all clothes that you would wear anyway, but fitted for the occasion. What do you think?”

 

Alec’s eyes went from one option to the other and then to each girl.

 

“I- uh- I mean- I want to-” Alec closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Clary could see he was trying to control the trembling that was taking over his body “ThereisaIndonesianrestaurantIfoundIwanttotakehim.”

 

“What?” both Clary and Izzy asked at the same time.

 

Alec took three deep breaths, deliberately trying to calm himself. Clary felt an almost irresistible urge to hug him.

 

“There is” Alec started very slowly, as if talking took more effort than he could bear “an Indonesian Restaurant I… want to take him” he finished slowly, looking directly at both girls.

 

Clary could not help the smile that took her face.

 

“That is a lovely idea, Alec.” She said confidently.

 

Izzy nodded her head; her eyes shining very brightly.

 

“Magnus is going to love it, Alec.” Izzy said.

 

Alec laughed relived, as if releasing some tension inside of him.

 

“You don’t think it’s a terrible idea?” he asked “I mean, I want to know him and I want him to know that.”

 

Clary stopped fighting the urge to hug Alec. She got up from the bed, got close to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

 

“Everything is going to be fine, Alec, you’ll see.” She kissed him cheeck softly and she could feel the small tremors Alec was still fighting to contain “Taking him to an Indonesian Restaurant is a good idea.”

 

Alec rested his head over hers, his eyes firmly closed.

 

“Let’s hope you are not wrong.”

 

___***___

 

Three hours later, Alec found himself a block away from Magnus’ building, comfortable, nice and functional clothes on, shaking from head to toe because _this was such a bad idea, the date was going to be a disaster._

 

He closed his eyes and counted to ten, trying to calm his breathing and control his nerves.

 

“Alexander?”

 

Alec opened his eyes and right in front of him, on block before than where he should be and being incredibly handsome, stood Magnus, brown eyes adorned with blue eyeliner and wearing a goatee. Alec could not stop staring.

 

“Magnus!” Alec said louder than normal and immediately regretted it. _Way to make a good impression_. “You are not supposed to be here!”

 

Magnus blinked, his eyebrow going up.

 

“Where should I be, then? Did I schedule a date with someone else?”

 

“No, I mean. You should be one block away.” Alec said without thinking and heard Magnus laugh “I mean, that’s not what meant. I meant I was going to meet you. A block away. At your place. For the date.” He tried to explain, his words again coming without any punctuation or sense.

 

_Is there anyone that is worse at this than me?!?_ Alec thought frustrated with his own inability to talk.

 

Very slowly, Magnus got close to Alec, he raise his hand and touched Alec’s fingers.

 

“May I?” Magnus asked gently.

 

Alec could only nod and watch as Magnus intertwined fingers in a gentle hand hold

 

“Thank you for allowing me.” Magnus said and looked up at Alec’s face “Are you ok?” he asked still in the soft voice.

 

Alec gave him a short nod.

 

“I have a speech” Alec blurted.

 

Magnus squeezed his hand.

 

“Let’s hear it, then.”

 

_Now or never._ Alec took a deep breath.

 

“I’m not good at this” he started and saw Magnus opening his mouth “Please, let me finish, I won’t be able to if you interrupt me.” He gave Magnus a small smile “You are lovely, I mean, by the angel, you are the most beautiful person I know. But… I’m-I’m not good at this. I’m not good at interacting with people and I have never been with anyone before.” Alec looked down and saw his and Magnus’ hands together. He closed his eyes “I stutter and stammer and I’m rash when I don’t want to be and I am a complete mess.” He opened his eyes and snorted sadly “Sometimes I think I will never fit in.” He looked directly at Magnus and without flinching, he continued “So- so if you want to quit before this becomes the disaster I think it will, I will- I will understand.” Frustrated, he felt tears gathering at his eyes “I mean, I don’t won’t to hurt you and I know how difficult I can be.” He concluded and looked back at Magnus “That’s… that’s it.”

 

All through Alec’s speech, Magnus’ eyes did not leave Alec’s face. The warlock gave Alec his full attention and Alec was not used to this. As soon as Alec finished, though, Magnus closed his eyes. Alec felt his heart break. _Better now than latter._ He though resigned. _That was always going to be the outcome._

Magnus finally re-opened his eyes.

 

 “Alexander” he said very softly and staring back at Alec “You… you are amazing. It surprises me that you think you are not as worthy as the rest of us.” He got closer and detangling their hands, he raised both of his hands to Alec’s face “Let me know if I do anything that you don’t like or want” Magnus whispered and brought Alec’s face down, to give him a kiss.

 

The kiss was soft and with no tongue. Alec still felt as if a lightning bolt had just hit him.

 

“Oh”

 

Magnus smiled.

 

“Thank you for telling me all this.” Magnus said seriously. It was a strange sensation, being the sole focus of the attention of someone. “I am still very interested in getting to know you.” Magnus continued with a satisfied grin.

 

Alec could not help returning the smile, relived and very happy.

 

“That’s… that’s very good news.” He said laughing a little.

 

“Now” Magnus said in a fake authoritarian voice, grabbing Alec’s hand again “tell, me, shadowhunter, where are you taking me?”

 

Alec took a deep breath. _Everything is going to be fine. I deserve a happy ending._

 

“There is an Indonesian Restaurant five blocks from here” Alec said and saw Magnus’ eyes widen in surprise “Care to show me your home food?”

 

Magnus shook his head, astounded.

 

“I have no idea why you think you would not be good at this, Alexander.” He said with a besotted smile. “Lead the way, gorgeous.” And intertwining his fingers with Alec’s again, Magnus allowed Alec to lead him to the restaurant.


End file.
